What Happens if I Don't Pay?
Problems paying your Council Tax or Business Rates
If you are having problems paying your bills, you should let us know as soon as possible. As soon as you realise you are struggling to pay, contact us on 01444 477574 or revenue@midsussex.gov.uk to discuss the options available to you.
You can also contact visit our struggling to pay page for further advice and support.
What happens if I don’t pay?
If you do not make payment in accordance with your bill, and you do not contact us, we are able to take action to recover any money outstanding.
The best way to avoid this happening is to pay by Direct Debit.
If you do fall behind on your Council Tax payments, and we hold contact information for you, we may contact you by text message, email and/or phone call, with a pre-recorded message. This will provide you with the opportunity to bring your account up to date and avoid any formal proceedings
To ensure you have this additional opportunity, please provide us with your contact details, you can contact us in a number of ways listed on our contact us page.
If you miss a payment, we will send you a reminder, giving you a further 7 days to pay.
If you pay your missed payment within 7 days, and then you miss another payment, we’ll send you another reminder notice.
We will only send a maximum of 2 reminders in any financial year.
If you miss any further payments, you will receive a final notice, whereby the balance for the remainder of the financial year is due in full
If you don’t pay your reminder within 7 days, we do not have to issue any further reminders and we are able to obtain a summons.
If you receive a reminder and cannot pay, please contact us to discuss the options available to you.
A final notice will be sent if you have already been sent 2 reminders, which you subsequently paid, and have missed a further payment
When a final notice has been sent, you no longer have the automatic right to pay by monthly instalments and the remaining balance for the financial year is payable in full, within 7 days.
If you don’t pay the final reminder balance, in full, within 7 days, we are able to obtain a summons.
If you receive a final notice and cannot pay, please contact us to discuss the options available to you.
A summons can be obtained when you have failed to make payment in accordance with your bill and reminders. You do not need to appear at the court hearing, and your credit rating is not affected.
When a summons has been sent to you, you are required to make payment in full, including the court costs, before the court date.
If you are unable to pay the summons in full by the due date, please contact our Recovery Team to discuss the options available to you
If you do not pay the summons in full by the due date, the Council will obtain a Liability Order.
If you the Council has obtained a Liability Order, a copy of the order is sent to you, along with an Income; expenditure form. It gives the Council further powers to recover outstanding monies.
Once a Liability Order has been obtained, the Council can:
Make deductions from your benefits or earnings
- Refer the balance outstanding to Enforcement Agents to collect
- Make you bankrupt
- Place a charging order on your property, and force its sale
- Apply to have you committed to prison